Solution Validation Allows Global Insurance Provider to Massively Scale VDI Userbase

Challenge

After recognizing that its current virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environment was not delivering high-quality user experiences, a global insurer wanted to rebuild the environment from scratch. The organization also wanted to expand their VDI user base from 3,000 to 60,000. As part of this project, the insurer needed to replace their current servers with new ones that could support the massively increased number of VDI users performing the compute-heavy tasks required for their jobs. 

When it came to memory needs, the insurer had narrowed its options to two solutions. But first they needed to understand how each solution would integrate with their current environment and support a larger user base and their associated workloads.

Facing a fiscal calendar deadline, the insurer needed to move quickly.

Having experienced WWT's extensive solution testing capabilities previously through a proof of concept (POC), the insurer engaged us once again to provide an accelerated way to compare the two solutions while bringing clarity and confidence to their decision-making process.

Solution

The POC required simulating a VDI knowledge worker from the insurer's environment to identify the optimal number of users per solution being tested.

Within this simulated environment, our lab team performed tests in one-hour increments. After each test, the number of virtual desktops was increased by 10 until the recommended resource allocation was reached or the performance started to degrade. 

Aware of the time constraint, we completed the POC in two weeks. The results from each test configuration were collated on the same graph so the client could easily compare the solutions against each other.

Outcomes

Staffing the experts and acquiring the platforms needed to evaluate the latest technologies can be costly, and it's often not feasible for many organizations. Through our technology investments and strong OEM partnerships, WWT's Advanced Technology Center lab environment and engineering expertise allow us to quickly simulate client-specific users and IT environments, providing a secure and realistic space to test and validate different solutions.

For the insurer, the VDI solutions were tested using real-world, production-level workloads with elements of the client's IT environment incorporated into the test plan to deliver product benchmarks. These benchmarks not only allowed the client to quickly identify and avoid resource constraints, but they also provided the confidence needed to select a solution that supports more virtual desktops with high-quality performance at a lower cost and without the expense of adding more servers than necessary.

From informing business decisions to integration and delivery

During the successful POC, the insurer came to realize the breadth of WWT's expertise and service offerings. This has since led to additional conversations around the insurer's data center operations and modernization plans.

For example, rather than relying on the complex process of ingesting new systems and upgrades at each individual data center location, the insurer has decided to leverage our supply chain and integration services for just-in-time delivery. That means we will hold purchased data center equipment at the ready in our North American Integration Center, which features more than 2.5 million square feet of warehouse and integration space. Once the client data center is ready to receive an equipment order, our systems integration experts will then build, test and deliver the servers on-site, greatly simplifying and accelerating the insurer's modernization efforts.